Provided by National Registry of Food Safety Professionals, the First Principles for Food Handlers Program is now accepted in Illinois.

Aurora, IL -- (ReleaseWire) -- 03/06/2014 --The Illinois Food Handling Regulation Enforcement Act that was passed into law in August 2013 established new food handler training requirements. According to this new law, all food handlers employed by restaurants will be required to receive or obtain training accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) in basic safe food handling principles within 30 days of employment and every 3 years thereafter.

This law officially goes into effect July 1, 2014, but according to the Illinois Department of Public Health, food handlers in Illinois can get certificates beforehand. National Registry of Food Safety Professionals offers an approved training program, available online for all Illinois food handlers at http://www.usfoodhandler.com. Users can register for the First Principles for Food Handlers course, available in English, Spanish, and Chinese, and complete the program over 30 days. Upon successful completion, food handlers can download and print a certificate for use in the workplace.

“As Illinois ushers in a new era in food safety with their food handler requirements, busy food handlers will be searching for an easy-to-use program, accessible whenever they have free time,” says Daniel Chancellor, Marketing Manager for National Registry of Food Safety Professionals. “Our interactive online program is the perfect solution for food handlers in Illinois who want to assure their managers and regulators that they have a basic understanding of food safety.”

Training can be online or in a classroom by live trainers, remote trainers, and by certified food service sanitation managers. For those food handlers working in restaurants, the training must be ANSI approved, unless their local health department has been approved by the Department to provide food handler training to restaurants or they work for a business with a Department approved internal training program.

For more information about the food handler law changes in Illinois and the training options for Illinois food handlers, go to http://www.nrfsp.com/foodhandler.